油亮 (yóu liàng) — glossy, shiny (especially from oil or fat) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

verb

glossyshiny (especially from oil or fat)

Examples

油亮。
Zhè pán cài kàn qǐ lái yóu liàng de.
This dish looks glossy.
油亮。
Tā de tóu fa yòu hēi yòu yóu liàng.
Her hair is both black and glossy.
油亮。
Xīn shuā de yóu qī hěn yóu liàng.
The freshly painted surface is very glossy.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

亮liàngbright

油 meaning oil and 亮 meaning bright describe a glossy sheen.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

氵由油

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

由yóu油yóu

Same sound today

油 is built from 氵, a water part, and 由, which supplies the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

人人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

京

京jīng亮liàng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

亮 combines 人 (person) with 京, and the 京 part shows a tower body.

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